Doncaster Dragons...16

Leigh Centurions...11 IT had to happen sometime. Leigh's 100 per cent NFP record was sent up in a puff of smoke by the Dragons but you can't help feeling the Centurions threw it away rather than Doncaster winning it.

Had they hung on to their 11-10 lead, however, it's questionable that Leigh deserved both points. But they should have had them anyway.

Instead they turned teenage Doncaster full-back Johnny Woodcock into a local hero on his home debut. Leigh's defence stood rooted on its own line as they allowed Woodcock to bob and weave and then stretch through a pile of bodies for the winning try two minutes from time.

There was no way back a second time. Leigh had already fought back from 10-4 down to hit the front 11-10 with only nine minutes left on the clock. All Leigh needed to do was control possession and work safe field position - basic stuff. Instead they turned the ball back over close to their own '20' and gave the Dragons one last assault on their line. And the defence, which has been so secure all season, was slow to come off the line and Woodock's burrow and wriggle for the line did the trick.

"I was disappointed with all three tries we conceded," complained coach Paul Terzis. "At half time I couldn't see them breaking us down, then we're guilty of three basic errors and got punished."

It was Leigh's first defeat in the NFP since - yes you've guessed it - at Doncaster last June. With Sunday's top of the table showdown at Keighley looming up, Leigh need to step up the tempo and intensity again. Perhaps three 'soft' games in the preceding weeks were a hindrance rather than a help.

Whatever the reason, Leigh struggled to match the passion the beleaguered Dragons showed. Cash-strapped and faced with players leaving by the droves, the Dragons proved they are still a potent force. Asa Amone, in his final game for the club, ran aggressively all afternoon and got good support from second rowers Tony Miller and Tony Fella. In the backs they had the class from Craig Weston and Paul Mansson to do the damage.

Leigh were never at their fluent best, turning the ball over far too many times for their own good. Dave Bradbury and Jamie Gass performed with distinction in the middle of the park, but generally Leigh laboured whenever they tried to move the attack wider. But they stuck at it and should have come home with the money.

Judging by the way the first half unfolded it was always going to be one error or one flash of brilliance that separated the sides. From Leigh's viewpoint it was a defensive error; Doncaster will take the opposite stance.

For 37 minutes both sides hammered away unsuccessfully although Leigh did have two scores disallowed; Simon Baldwin's touchdown ruled out for a knock on and Neil Turley's for a questionable offside.

It was Leigh's best move of the half that brought the opening points. Adam Bristow and Dave Whittle made ground through the middle before Liam Bretherton was clattered off the ball by Weston. The Aussie went on report and Simon Svabic kicked Leigh into a 2-0 lead.

Three minutes into stoppage time Doncaster were penalised for ripping the ball from Gass and Svabic doubled Leigh's lead.

That should have been the platform for better things. Instead Leigh made the worst possible start to the half, conceding two tries in the opening eight minutes. Bretherton knocked on close to his own line directly from the kick off to put the Dragons back on the front foot. When Weston ran across the face of the defence towards the right wing, Leigh didn't spot the danger and by the time he'd unloaded to Anton Garcia the Centurions could not shut the door and the winger shot in from 10 metres.

If that wasn't bad enough, Michael Watts spilled a pass on the first tackle and when Weston found Mansson from the scrum, the Kiwi stepped through a gap and rounded Turley for a converted score and a 10-4 lead.

It took Leigh until the hour mark to finally penetrate a scrambling and committed defence. Gass and Bradbury broke the first line and try-poacher Turley finished off for his 28th of the season from 30 metres. Svabic goaled to level things at 10-10.

When Svabic potted a 71st minute field goal, Leigh looked like they might sneak it. And so they should, deserved or not.

LEIGH: Turley; Watts, Anderson, Johnson, Ingram; Svabic, Bretherton; Bradbury, Hamilton, Whittle, Baldwin, Kendrick, Bristow. Subs: Gass (for Bradbury 35), Leathem (for Whittle BB 15, BBR 31), Duffy (for Hamilton 24), Swann (for Kendrick 55), Leathem (for Gass 65), Hamilton (for Duffy 67), Bradbury (for Whittle 51).

DONCASTER: Woodcock; Bennett, Mansson, Coult, Garcia; Weston, Handley; Amone, Edwards, David, Miller, Fella, Lawton. Subs: Smith (not used), Atter (for Amone 72), Green (for Fella 62), Ramskill (for David 59).

SCORERS: Leigh - Try: Turley. Gls: Svabic (3), Svabic fg.

Doncaster - Tries: Garcia, Mansson, Woodcock. Gls: Weston (2).